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Diamond J Knives, What happened to them?

Don't buy it. If it were true we'd all likely be entirely understanding and completely fine with waiting until they're back on their feet (regardless of what their problem is; whether it be medical, personal or otherwise). Again, I completely dislocated my hip and fractured my acetabulum and was literally in front of customers 5 days later. Granted, I was crying while driving to and from, but I was there and then off to more training 1500 miles away 2 days after that (with 3 separate IV's and in traction 7 days earlier).
So a complete refund (or close to it) is the only solution for me. No interest whatsoever in a knife. Nothing personal. If anything, I'm the XXXX idiot. Who the XXXX names a knife after a girl? Seriously. I blame myself on this one.
 
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I have given Dan's cell phone several calls in the last week. The phone rings 8 times or so and then goes to voicemail. NO REPLY.
 
This might be the classic well-meaning-up-and-coming-knife-maker-who-mysteriously-turns-into-a-dick-story (a timeline):

1. Up and coming knife maker starts to get a good reputation for his knives. Pretty soon, the orders start flooding in. The knife maker asks for deposits/payment-up-front. The buyers agree to this.

2. The knife maker starts spending the money and living a nicer lifestyle. Meanwhile, the reality of all those orders is forgotten. The knife maker tells himself, “I’ll get to it soon. I’ll get to it soon.” But the custom orders are daunting.

3. At some point, people start to complain that the orders are taking a long time and that the knife maker isn’t giving them good communication or timeframes for the work. The knife maker gets defensive and angry because he is getting overwhelmed and starting to realize the gravity of the situation. But he can’t really give the money back because it’s either spent up already or it’s tied-up somewhere else. He wants to do the right thing, but at the same time, there’s no way he can make the knives in time. Knife making is hard work! There’s a reason all those people gave him so much money, after all. So, being an irresponsible (if genuinely nice) person, he takes the easy way out: he pretends the problems might just go away… or that he might get around to it “soon” or deal with it “tomorrow.”

4. People start to attack him and impune his reputation… loudly and in numbers. This alarms him, and he tries to placate the crowd with feeble, pointless declarations that he’s going to make it allright. He even tells a few lies to try to get sympathy and buy some time. It works for a little while, buying him the much-needed time. But it's all in vain because he can never climb out of the hole he’s dug for himself, and deep down inside he knows it.

5. The knife maker finally snaps out of it and realizes the situation. The constant attacks have saddened and scared him. If he lets people down one more time, they will lynch him. He’s given his final excuse and baloney story. He can’t give the money back, and he can’t make the knives. So he takes the only road he can think of: go into hiding and wait until it all blows over. Either that or run far, far away.

6. All contact stops and a lot of customers get screwed.

7. The end.
 
Magnaminous_G said:
This might be the classic well-meaning-up-and-coming-knife-maker-who-mysteriously-turns-into-a-dick-story (a timeline):

1. Up and coming knife maker starts to get a good reputation for his knives. Pretty soon, the orders start flooding in. The knife maker asks for deposits/payment-up-front. The buyers agree to this.

2. The knife maker starts spending the money and living a nicer lifestyle. Meanwhile, the reality of all those orders is forgotten. The knife maker tells himself, “I’ll get to it soon. I’ll get to it soon.” But the custom orders are daunting.

3. At some point, people start to complain that the orders are taking a long time and that the knife maker isn’t giving them good communication or timeframes for the work. The knife maker gets defensive and angry because he is getting overwhelmed and starting to realize the gravity of the situation. But he can’t really give the money back because it’s either spent up already or it’s tied-up somewhere else. He wants to do the right thing, but at the same time, there’s no way he can make the knives in time. Knife making is hard work! There’s a reason all those people gave him so much money, after all. So, being an irresponsible (if genuinely nice) person, he takes the easy way out: he pretends the problems might just go away… or that he might get around to it “soon” or deal with it “tomorrow.”

4. People start to attack him and impune his reputation… loudly and in numbers. This alarms him, and he tries to placate the crowd with feeble, pointless declarations that he’s going to make it allright. He even tells a few lies to try to get sympathy and buy some time. It works for a little while, buying him the much-needed time. But it's all in vain because he can never climb out of the hole he’s dug for himself, and deep down inside he knows it.

5. The knife maker finally snaps out of it and realizes the situation. The constant attacks have saddened and scared him. If he lets people down one more time, they will lynch him. He’s given his final excuse and baloney story. He can’t give the money back, and he can’t make the knives. So he takes the only road he can think of: go into hiding and wait until it all blows over. Either that or run far, far away.

6. All contact stops and a lot of customers get screwed.

7. The end.
Click to expand...


Seems pretty much how it has unfolded in my mind too except in my story point 2 would read...

2. The knife maker starts indulging in some expensive mind altering substances. Meanwhile, the reality of all those orders is forgotten. The knife maker tells himself, “I’ll get to it soon. I’ll get to it soon.” But the custom orders are daunting.
 
The good news is that I'll strictly only buy a custom knife in person at a show and there's one coming up. Further good news is the firm belief in karma so maybe that car accident will happen one day.
 
AL&S,

I understand your frustration, but wishing harm on anyone is a little much, don't you think?

There are thousands of knifemakers with spotless reputations and generous return policies. They often post ready-to-ship knives right here on BF.

As long as you don't pay in advance for something that isn't made yet, I'd say your money is safe with the good ones.
 
Los Angeles said:
AL&S,

I understand your frustration, but wishing harm on anyone is a little much, don't you think?

There are thousands of knifemakers with spotless reputations and generous return policies. They often post ready-to-ship knives right here on BF.

As long as you don't pay in advance for something that isn't made yet, I'd say your money is safe with the good ones.
Click to expand...


I think he was making a joke, and not being totally serious.
Lighten up, it was kind of funny:D
 
Maybe not totally serious, but maybe I don't really care either way. I do appreciate the morality police, though. You do seem to care.
 
And with this feedback and reputation, the losses will occur not only to those who paid and never rec'd, but also to those who purchased and may look for comparable resale value in the future.

Lose/lose. What a shameful end.

Coop
 
Hello all, we apologize for the absence. A number of circumstances have kept us from our business. We are finally today back home to get back to work. I will be contacting everyone who has left me emails Over the past few months tonight/ tomorrow to discuss how they would like to proceed. We have a number of your knives partially completed. We plan to make 110% right with everyone. Once again, we are greatly sorry for the huge inexcusable inconvenience for everyone involved.

Dan

Diamondjknives@gmail.com
 
Very interesting! I dig there knives as well! Watching to see how this works
out! Hope everybody gets there money or knives.. Keep us posted!
Good luck guys!


Jason
 
Dan, I don't know you or your work but I will pray for you and your family. I hope that your health and other circumstances have fully improved to a point where you can get back to making great knives and happy customers. When I started reading this thread I saw that Bill Akers spoke up for you and that got my attention. I really hope that you get everything back on track and please stay in touch.
 
Dan,
I hope things are going better and you and your brother get back on your feet.
BTW, I would still like to add Gertrude to my collection. Contact me to work out details.
Thanks,
Rick
 
Dan has also contacted me. I look forward to working with them again. In his emails to me they seem to want to make everything right.
 
After all the nonsense, I wouldn't believe anything these guys said. Show me the knives and/or money is what I say. They have a very long way to go in my book to get any confidence back. Right now they do not deserve any sympathy.
 
I spoke with Dan on the phone last night. He stated that he intends to make things square with everyone.
He also gave me a tracking number for a package he sent me. It should have inside of it "Gertrude" and another knife.
He told me he is sending these to me and wants no payment . This is his attempt to make all square with me. I accepted his offer and told him I would mention it here, as many people are interested and watching.
I will let all here know when my package arrives and how I like the contents.
I do hope all works out for Dan, his brother and that they are able to make all good with everyone here.
Their work is too nice and their prior dealings all went so well that it would be a shame to lose those talents to our knife community.
I guess only time will tell.
 
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